Buckling of Stiffened Panels Loaded Axially and in Bending

When a thin steel plate with flat stiffeners is loaded either axially or in bending it will eventually undergo large deformations in either Mode I or Mode II, where for Mode I the free edges of the stiffeners have only tensile stresses and for Mode II these stresses are predominantly compressive. Thus Mode I is a plate buckle whereas Mode II is a stiffener buckle. Associated with each mode is a plastic mechanism the load-deflexion curve of which defines a panel’s post-buckling behaviour. These mechanisms are analysed theoretically and then a study is made of the effects of each parameter. Laboratory tests on large stiffened panels are briefly described.
N.W. Murray